Knights Aren't Always Heroes
by AryaTyrell
Summary: Tess gets sent away to Pennsylvania- for the wrong reasons. Logan/OC... Sequel to "An Accident."
1. Chapter 1

**AHH! MY FIRST SERIES! : ) This story is the sequel to "An Accident," and if you haven't read it yet, DO IT NOW, or else you won't understand what's happening here. And yes, Camille died. I think. **

_Wouldn't it be nice if we knew what went on inside everyone's head? We'd know what they thought of that new zebra-print jacket you just bought yesterday, or what they think about that boy walking by (who happens to be your crush). We'd know what the casting director was really thinking when she said "Good job," after your audition for_ _school musical and if your best friend is mad at you for taking her lip gloss yesterday without asking. _

_Unfortunately, everyone's heads are locked up tighter than the Pentagon. Sometimes people give away clues on what their really thinking- like the casting director's grimace when you missed all those high notes in the songs, or how your best friend ignored all of your texts today. But usually, most telling signs go unnoticed. In fact, a few months ago, a certain Palmwoods golden girl dropped a huge hint about what was going on inside her nasty little head, but people barely raised an eyebrow. _

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a smoky, Friday afternoon. A bunch of wildfires had broken out in San Diego, and the wind was pushing the smoke to Los Angeles, ruining the California air. Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan and Tess were all inside apartment 2J, with a grief counselor named Ciara Walker. While everyone else was wearing ratty jeans and beat up T-shirts, Ciara was dressed in an expensive-looking sundress with matching flats.

"Okay," Ciara smiled at Tess and the others. "At the last meeting I instructed you guys to bring certain items. Let's put them on the coffee table, shall we?"

James tossed in a comb that had _James _written on the top in silver cursive. Carlos offered a leather wallet with a big, bold _C_ on the front. Kendall placed a worn out whistle on the table. Tess reached into her bag and produced a blue, rope bracelet and folded piece od white paper, and Logan carefully laid out a color photograph that was frayed around the edges. It was him and Camille by the Palmwoods pool. Camille was in one of those huge chairs by the poolside for tanning, while Logan was over her, giving her bunny ears.

A lump formed in Tess's throat when she saw that picture. Camille was the entire reason they were here with Ciara today. Just a few weeks ago Camille had hit James with her black Hummer and sent Carlos away to a mental institution. Then she'd practically stalked her and Logan and took sneaky pictures of them and threatened to show them to James, who supposedly had a crush on Tess. Then less than 24 hours later Camille had practically kidnapped her in the same black Hummer and tried to strangle her. Tess had then pushed Camille off the cliff by Moyenne Lake, and Camille's fate was a deadly and bloody one.

Then something even more bizarre happened. Logan had practically proposed to Tess (okay, not proposed, but he gave her ring, which is close enough) all while Kendall was snoozing in the corner. Now Logan and Tess were happily dating, much to the dissatisfaction of James.

Because all of that was _way_ too much for five teenagers to handle, Mrs. Knight decided to seek professional help. That was how they ended up with Ciara, the "very best' grief counselor in the Los Angeles area. This was the second Friday they group was meeting together, and this particular session was dedicated to letting go of all the horrible things that had happened.

Ciara peeked at the objects they'd laid out on the table. "All of these objects remind you of Camille, don't they?"

Everyone's nod was barely perceptible.

Ciara opened up a black garbage bag. "Let's put everything in here. After I leave, I want you guys to bury this somewhere nearby. This will release all of the harmful negativity that surrounded you and Camille's relationship. Let's do this."

They all stood. Tess's lip quivered when she eyed the worn blue bracelet. Camille had made it when they became friends in sixth grade. _This will bond us forever,_ she'd said. Maybe Tess should have brought something different to this session- like one of Camille's old photos or acting reviews. She had a ton of those. Ciara nudged her chin toward the bag, with her eyes fixed on Tess. With a sob, she dropped the bracelet in. Next, she let go of the paper. It was one of her old acting reviews written by Camille, from Drama class years ago. The comments were dashed off, as though the writer had been in a hurry.

Carlos came up next with his wallet. He held it in between his forefinger and thumb as though it were a piece of snot. Tess remembered that it was a Christmas gift from Camille a few years ago. "Good-_bye_," Carlos said firmly, and he let go of the wallet.

Tess watched as Logan picked up the photo of him and Camille gingerly by the edges. He stared at it for a few seconds. Right before he tossed it in, Tess grabbed his arm. "Don't put that in," she said, ignoring Ciara's stern look. "It's a really good picture of you guys. You should keep it."

Logan raised an eyebrow but wordlessly set the picture on the fireplace mantle next to the many awards Big Time Rush had won.

James rolled his eyes as he tossed the comb in, not bothering to explain how he came to get it.

Kendall was the last one to go. He held his whistle by its rope, dangling above the depths of the trash bag. "Camille gave this to me for controlling the hockey team," he whispered, smiling. His smile faltered when his whistle landed in the bag with a plop.

"We good?" Ciara said as everyone shuffled back to their seat. "Promise me you'll bury this. It'll help, honest." She tied the strings of the bag together.

After Ciara had left, everyone was quiet for a few minutes. Tess had the overwhelming urge to rip open the bag and dig out her bracelet again. She'd worn that thing every day except for the previous two weeks. Every so often she ran her hand along her wrist to see if it was still there, but it wasn't.

"So where should we bury it?" Carlos asked suddenly.

"Jeez. You make it sound like we killed someone," Kendall said.

"How about Moyenne Lake?" Tess suggested. "It's appropriate, right? I mean, it's the last place we saw… her."

"What do you think, James?" Logan asked.

"Whatever," he mumbled in a monotone, as though he'd rather be anywhere else.

So everyone hopped into Mrs. Knight's van (because it was the only thing that could seat all of them) and drove in silence to Moyenne Lake. Kendall, of course, was in the driver's seat, with Carlos in the shotgun seat. Tess was on the left hand window seat in the back, with Logan next to her. James occupied the right window seat. Although Logan held her hand the whole way there, Tess still felt lonely.

Fifteen minutes later, they were there. James had the shovel and Logan had the bag. Tess led them to the cliff in a daze, thinking about that day… the last day she'd ever seen Camille.

"Is this a good spot?" she croaked when they arrived at the cliff. There was a murmur of agreement.

James began to dig up mounds of dirt and grass with the shovel they'd grabbed from the janitor at the last minute. When the hole was sufficiently deep, Logan tossed the bag in. They all kicked the dirt back over the hole.

"Well?" Kendall said. "Shouldn't we all… say something?

They all looked at one another. "Bye, Camille," Carlos said, waving sadly at the mound in the ground.

James shrugged. "Bye Camille."

"Bye, Camille," Kendall echoed.

"I'll pass," Logan muttered.

"Good-bye, Camille," Tess said softly. "I'll miss you." Her eyes filled up with tears for the millionth time that month. She turned to Logan, who pulled her into a bear hug. She cried into his chest, the first feelings of warmth and security coming back to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James look away.

**Soooo…. What do you think? Review please! And send me some ideas while you're at it, I have no idea how to do the second chapter! D: **


	2. Chapter 2

**I sat at my computer desk for over an hour thinking about what to write. I even Googled "What to do when you have writer's block." **

When Tess returned to the apartment, she went straight to the room she shared with Katie, not bothering to explain to the guys. She tossed her Aeropostale bag on the chair of her vanity and flopped on the lower bunk. There was so much to think about.

First…those grief lessons. Honestly, Tess thought they were bullshit. Ciara always peppered her speeches with philosophical phrases like _harmful negativity_ and _the spiritual need for closure_ and _confronting the grieving process_. Last meeting, they were supposed to chant _No one else wants to hurt me_ and _Camille is gone and never coming back _in front of the mirror. The lessons were making things worse, if anything. Maybe her friends could get over Camille being gone but she couldn't. Every day Tess was reminded of her- when she looked in her closet and saw the witch costume that she'd borrowed from Camille but never returned. When she walked in front of the mirror to say Ciara's lame-ass chants she saw the feather earrings that Camille had given to her as a birthday present a few years back. Even when she looked at James, she saw that long, Z shaped scar running down the side of his face from that "accident." Yet another lovely reminder of Camille was that haunted look in Carlos's eyes. When Carlos had come back from that mental institution, he was all shaken and looked like he might fall over when the wind blew at him. He wouldn't tell them what he saw or what happened, but it must have been pretty bad if it had him _that_ shaken up.

Everyone else wasn't helping, either. After it had become clear to them that Camille was dead and was behind all the mischief in June, the local media did a story on it and had talked of little else since. It was pretty weird, too- this being Los Angeles and everything. Something _always _happened in Los Angeles. And _since_ it was Los Angeles, all the other cities got wind of it and announced it on _their _news stations. Even weirder, the country seemed to have been caught up in the story. There were stories of stalkers and harassment all around America that had been reported to the police, and usually within 24 hours they found out who was causing it- jilted exes or jealous classmates. Tess had even received a few faux-Camille texts and notes herself. Most of them went, _I know all your dirty secrets! So_ lame.

Then there was James. He wouldn't look at her, much less talk to her. In fact, the only time they'd ever spoken to each other since she and Logan had started dating was when he'd asked her if she'd seen his favorite book, _the Catcher in the Rye, _lying around anywhere. Maybe Kendall was right in assuming that James liked her. Maybe, her foot. _Duh,_ James liked her. Tess facepalmed, wondering why she'd never noticed it before. Maybe it was because she was totally clueless when it came to guys and their stupid indirect signs. Boys should just tell the girl if they like her or not so the girl could get over him already instead of stressing over it. But anyway… Jesus. Why didn't she ever notice it before? She'd always thought there was a little something-something going on between him and Camille, especially after that "stage kiss" a few months back. But apparently she was wrong. So wrong it wasn't even funny. Tess slid the ring from Logan up and down her finger, biting her lip. A leaden ball was settling in her stomach now. She felt guilty crushing James like that. There was nothing like heartbreak from one of your best friends. Nothing.

The sound of the door opening broke her out of her thoughts. "Hey," Logan said, poking his head in. "We're having movie night in the living room. Want to come out of your hiding place and join us?"

"What are we watching?"

"Star Trek 2009," he admitted sheepishly. Tess rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"You boys and Star Trek," she muttered. "Just as long as I don't have to sit next to Carlos." Whenever it was movie night, Carlos (who had the attention span of about 10 seconds) would always ask, "What's happening?" "Why did he do that?" "Is he dead?"

"You know, all the characters of Star Trek are like the people we know in real life," Logan said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Really? How?"

"Like this." Logan crossed to the whiteboard hanging on the wall. Picking up a red marker, he wrote in his neat writing:

_Carlos = Chekov_

_Kendall = Spock _

_James = Kirk _

_Me = ? _

_Tess = Nyota _

_Gustavo = Nero _

"Why must you write everything like it's a math equation?" Tess groaned. "But anyway… why are there question marks for you?"

He shrugged. "There's no one there who's like me," he said simply.

"Oh, please."

"Well, it's true." He set the marker down. "I'm out of place. I've always been out of place. Dislocated. I mean, think about it, Tess. Think way back into elementary and middle school. Did I ever belong to a certain group? Ever?" Her silence pressed him on. "Believe me, things weren't easy before I met you guys. People made fun of me, bullied me, pulled me down. _Not_ a good period of my life. If it weren't for you guys, I'd be lying in a ditch somewhere."

"Hey, don't say that," she said, getting up. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I didn't want you guys to worry," he said in a small voice.

"Lo-_gan!_ We would worry if you were getting bullied, believe me." Then she got up and rubbed away the question marks with her hand.

Logan's lips parted in surprise. "What're you doing?" he asked as she uncapped a green marker.

She didn't answer his question. She simply wrote _Scotty_ in the place of the question marks. Her eyes softened. "Scotty was isolated, too, remember? He was incredibly smart- but was left out in the arctic for his knowledge to waste away. If Kirk didn't find him, he'd still be there." She winked at Logan. "Sounds like someone I know." She put the marker back on the rack. "Well, come on! We're missing the opening scenes," she said, dragging him by his hand to the darkened living room.

"About time you guys came out," Kendall said as they sat on the couch. "We were wondering if you'd gotten lost on the way here." Logan whacked him on the head with a pillow.

"Hey! I was going to use that pillow!" Tess said, reaching for it. Laughing, Logan handed it to her. She hugged it to her chest and focused her attention on the widescreen hanging on the wall.

James, of course, said nothing during the entire two hours, although Tess was right next to him.

**Hope you guys liked that… I feel really tired now… I'm going to take a nap. Yeah, I still take naps. Naps are cool. Who doesn't like naps? **

**And yes. I enjoy Star Trek. xD **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ughhh. Sorry it's so short ! :( But I really wanted the chapter to end where it did, so... yeah. **

The next day, everyone decided to hang out by the pool, since it was a good 95 degrees outside and there was nothing else to do. It had been a lazy day in general, as planned. Tess sat up with her new issue of _Seventeen _while Logan sat beside her, doing some research for extra credit homework. The other boys were somewhere out in the vast Palmwoods pool.

Tess looked at Logan with a look of disgust. "How can you do school stuff in the middle of summer?"

"Because. That's the way I am," he replied, looking at her over his sunglasses. Then he looked at something over her shoulder. "Who is that?" he asked, squinting. Tess turned around and followed his gaze. At first she couldn't make out the person. Then she heard an all-too familiar voice.

"Tess Claire Sapphire! Get over here now!" Her mother's sharp voice harangued her.

Logan's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God…"

Tess's mother stepped up to where Tess and Logan were sitting. Mrs. Sapphire and Tess looked exactly alike- dark brown curls, eyes the color of melted chocolate. And the last time Tess had checked, her mom was still in Minnesota. Well, thinking back on it, she _did _seem to recall her mom would be coming over to visit for a few days in the summer…

"I get a call fifteen minutes ago saying you're with _him, _and I don't believe them! Silly me! I say they're lying!" Tess's mom had something against Logan- for whatever reason she totally hated him.

"Mom, I can explain!"

"What has _happened _to you, Tess?" Mrs. Sapphire screeched. "I thought I made you promise to never, _ever, _date him!" She paused and glanced down at Logan. "You're _not_ my daughter anymore."

"Mom!" Tess screamed. It felt like her mother had thrust a curling iron into her eye. The statement sounded so… so… legal and binding. And final.

Her mom dragged- or tried to drag- her into the lobby, while Tess tossed a pleading glance at Logan, who looked just as confused as she was. "I'm calling Lydia when we get upstairs. You just haven't learned your lesson."

"No!" Tess broke free. The last time Mrs. Sapphire had suspected something, she'd said she would send Tess away to Pennsylvania to her uber-conservative aunt. "How can you say I'm not your daughter? How can you send me away?" she asked, tears pricking her eyes.

Mrs. Sapphire reached for Tess's arm again, but Tess's foot got caught on an uneven crack on the pool deck. She fell backwards, hitting her tailbone, experiencing a white, blinding flash of pain.

When she opened her eyes, her mother stood before her. "Get up. Let's go."

"No!" Tess bellowed, trying to get up. They were attracting curious bystanders but she didn't care. She tried to get up but her mother's nails pierced her arm. She looked again and Logan, whose eyes were huge and watery, and he looked small and alone. _I might never see him again,_ Tess thought._ This might be it._

"What's so wrong with it?" she screamed at her mother. "What's so wrong with dating Logan? How can you _hate _me for that?"

Her mother's nostrils flared and her hands balled into fists. And then, suddenly, she seemed to deflate. All at once, Mrs. Sapphire looked so spent and scared. And ashamed. Since her mother was not wearing any makeup, Tess noticed for the first time there was a redness around her eyes, like she'd been crying for a long time. "Please. Let's just go."

Tess didn't know what else to do except get up and follow her mother into the lobby. "Go upstairs and start packing," Mrs. Sapphire ordered her daughter. Tess nodded glumly.

A few minutes later she arrived at the inviting door of room 2J. But there was something taped to the door. Tess shivered, despite the warm weather, and looked around. The corridor was deserted. _I got a call fifteen minutes ago. _Eyes widening, she read the handwritten note.

_Roses are red, violets are blue_

_If you don't stop it, I'm calling you-know-who. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok before you go, "Say whaa you already uploaded this! -.-" There were a few tech specs that I had to handle, and I had to take it down, so here it is again... **

**I kind of got this idea from Big Time Breakup… I tried my best NOT to plagiarize! Not my intention to copy the wonderfully creative and talented show writers of Big Time Rush, believe me! : ) And I tried not to make James the big bad character in this chapter so don't review saying "ahhh James is like the big bad character in this chapter!"**

Later that afternoon, Tess found herself following an old lady with a walker on the moving sidewalk at LAX, alone. Kendall or Carlos or even Logan weren't there. A little knife cut through her heart when she thought of this. No one had come to say goodbye because they had a meeting with Griffin. She angrily dragged her old, beat up blue suitcase along. The case was crammed with her worldly goods- her clothes, her shoes, her makeup, her two favorite stuffed rabbits, her pink stuffed dog named Tiffany, her journal, her iPod, her cell phone, and various carefully folded notes from Camille Roberts that she couldn't bear to part with. Then she'd realized she'd forgotten to pack underwear, but that was what she got for packing frantically earlier on, freaked out by that note on the door.

She groaned. Ughh. That note. Who had written it? It wasn't there when she'd left for the pool. And that writing… there was something eerily familiar about it. She glanced around the airport. Could it have been one of these people? How about that, um, large woman in too-tight jeans? That man stopping to dial his cell phone? Or that middle-aged woman pushing a baby in a stroller?

"_The moving walkway end is approaching. Please, watch your step,"_ the disembodied male voice warned her, snapping her back to reality. She ended up tripping on her own feet anyway. She wandered around, looking gate C16. Airports. She hated them. It was on her list of least favorite places, right under hospitals.

She found the appropriate line and took her place at the end of it, drumming her fingers lightly on the handle of her bag as she waited. Bored and listless, she decided to people-watch. People-watching was one of her and Logan's favorite things to do together. They'd go to the Starbucks down the street from Rocque Records and sit outside. Then they'd make up all kinds of crazy stories about the people that passed by. On this particular day, she saw two men walking towards each other. One was bald and dressed in a blue polo shirt, and the other had a long mane of black hair and had on a Hawaiian print shirt. A woman was walking with him, and Tess presumed it was his wife. Tess decided to make the man with his wife secretly gay, just for the fun of it.

"Have you got the time?" the secretly gay lover asked the blue polo man.

"Um, 4:30," the blue polo man said.

"Thanks," said the secretly gay lover, touching the blue polo man's arm.

Tess raised her eyebrows, hoping for more, but unfortunately both men went in opposite directions about their business. She people-spotted for about ten more minutes, making a fat woman pregnant (but the woman didn't know it because she was so large) but eventually became bored snooping into other people's lives. Time to focus on her own life now. She slid her ring up and down her finger, a nervous habit she was beginning to get into lately.

"Tess!" Was someone calling her name? It seemed very faint, so she figured it was her imagination.

"_Tess!_" There it was again! She swung around, searching for the source.

At first she saw nothing out of the ordinary and thought that there was another Tess somewhere. Then she saw four tall figures pushing their way through the crowd. She squinted, trying to identify them. One had blonde hair, and three had dark hair. _Jesus Christ,_ she thought, her eyes widening._ Did they really?... _"You guys!" she asked as three of her friends ran to her. "What are you doing here? I thought there was a meeting!"

"Yeah, well, we kind of ditched," Carlos admitted as Logan wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh, it's a secret," he said, putting a finger over his lips.

"Oh, but you didn't have to do that!" she said. "Griffin and Gustavo are gonna hit the roof when you guys go back!"

"Ehhh, we'll manage," Kendall shrugged. "And we wanted to say bye to you and everything."

"Awww, you guys!" Tess looked around at all of her friends, truly touched at their thoughtfulness. Then Tess registered the presence of James for the first time. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey, you guys. Can you try and find gate C16 for me? I've been wandering around forever. Come back when you find it, 'kay?"

Of course, Carlos was the first to bounce away since he had the best sense of direction. Kendall and Logan jogged to keep up. When James started after them, Tess slid a finger down the back of his collar, yanking him back. "Oh, no you don't. You stay here." She glared up at him. "What is your problem?"

"What?" James asked.

"Don't play dumb with me! Why won't you talk to me? Look at me?" Tess questioned, her voice rising three octaves. "If you have a problem with me, James, you can say it to my face."

"I don't have a problem with you."

"Dude!" Tess flailed her arms around, not knowing what else to say.

"It's Logan I have a problem with."

"What?" her arms dropped back to her sides, feeling deflated. "Why?"

"Logan always thinks he's perfect," James started, pacing up and down in front of her. "I mean, he's always talking about it _all the time._ We don't need to hear about it every freaking second of the day. And second of all, he's only got, like, two friends in the whole universe, and he's lucky to have even them. Because what I see is some titchy, know-it-all loser who's life revolves around grades and rules and regulations, not even good ones anyway!"

"James!" Tess yelled, attracting a few curious passerby. "Stop it!" She was shaking with rage. "And you wonder why I chose Logan. Logan's not like any of the things you said. Did you know, before he met us, he was bullied every day?" Tess knew she hit a soft spot. As pissed as James was at Logan, she knew he would still care for their Logie. "And just because your life doesn't come out the way you want it to doesn't give you the right to become such a.. a... an _asshole!_" she stormed away with a few tears already sliding down her cheeks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Has anyone noticed that I seem to update my stories later and later? Hmm. anyway… I'll have more time to write now since my space camp is now over (I go to space camp because I'm a nerd :D) And I won't be as tired. Sooo I'm expecting some new ideas to pop in my head instead of me sitting here, trying to think of something to write. **

Five and a half hours later, Tess was at another airport- the one in Philadelphia. And the first person she saw when she got off the plane was a middle-aged woman with dull hair and a sharp, hawk-like nose. Her lips were set in a thin line and her arms crossed, as though she had more important things to do. Tess immediately knew this to be her aunt- she could see the resemblance to her mother. They had the trademark curls and eyes.

"Tess," her aunt nodded.

"Aunt Lydia," Tess imitated.

"Well, let's go, I can't wait here all day," Lydia started to walk at a brisk pace. Tess wheeled her blue suitcase along. Since her case had been checked as carry-on luggage, she had no need to wait at the baggage claim.

In Lydia's SUV, Tess pulled out her phone and turned it on. _4 new text messages,_ it read on the main screen. She scrolled through her inbox, the little glow of the screen lighting up her face in the darkness. Two of them were from Kendall and Carlos and had been in her inbox for more than two hours; both generally said, _Bye, Tess! We'll miss you : ( _The third was from Logan saying he'd send her whatever she left behind (Tess blushed at the thought of Logan sending her her underwear), and the fourth was from Katie, saying sorry she couldn't come to the airport to say goodbye.

She slid it in the pocket of her bag and sighed, looking at the scenery flicking by. Philadelphia a big sprawling city like L.A, but the intense heat was missing. Maybe because it was nighttime? Tess was used to being far up north- after all, she had come from Minnesota. But she'd stayed in Los Angeles for so long that it felt like a second home to her now. Perhaps Philadelphia could be her third home, if such a thing was possible.

She leaned back on the upholstery. Just then, her phone lit up, signaling a new message. It was from Logan.

_Hey how's philly? Just finishing up with some work over here :/ _

_It's ok, _Tess typed back. _I'm stuck here with my crazy aunt though. She thinks boys are after "only one thing."_

_Well this boy's after u, so that could be the one thing ;D _

_Har har -.-" so hows every1 else? _

_O u no… the same :/ james is over in the corner pouting, carlos is carlos, kendalls playing video games with katie…_

_Pouting? O_o _

_He's all depressed cuz he made u cry and everything. _

_Oh… _

A sudden bump made Tess look up from her texting. She glanced out the window and saw that the car had rolled to a stop on a driveway, probably her aunt's. "We're here," Lydia announced. Then she turned and looked at Tess. "What's that in her your hand?"

"Um, my phone?" Tess replied, caught off guard a little.

"Oh, no cell phones allowed in my house," Lydia declared, swiping Tess's phone from her grasp. _What the hell? _She wanted to scream._ We're not Amish!_

But they might as well have been. One step in Lydia's house made Tess stop and stare in wonder and horror. The house was designed like one of the houses in the early 1900s, which meant there was nothing modern or high-tech in it. The living room pretty much consisted of a huge oriental rug surrounded by old, worn out chairs. From what she could see, the kitchen comprised of a God-knows-how-old stove (which Tess was afraid might set the house on fire) and a small fridge and sink. She gulped.

"Your room's over there," Lydia said, pointing. "You'll be sharing a room with Trisha." Trisha was Tess's 14 year old cousin. Tess watched helplessly as Lydia put her phone in a pickle jar on the counter. _Great,_ she thought._ Now my phone will smell like pickles. _

Wrinkling her nose at this thought, she dragged her blue suitcase to the room which Lydia had pointed. She entered, and widened her eyes at what she saw. It was probably the most normal-looking room in the whole house. The walls were painted a sky blue with clouds painted at the top. Several posters were tacked to it, ranging from Lady Gaga to Big Time Rush (she cringed a little) to Degrassi. Two beds were crammed in the small room- one was made neatly, and the other had Trisha on it, who was reading a magazine. Trisha sure had changed since Tess had last saw her. Her dark, straight hair went all the way down to her waist, with a Vera Bradley headband pulling her bangs back. Her long legs dangled in the air as she was laying on her stomach. The girl must have grown at least an inch. Unsure of what to say, Tess said, "Um… hi?"

"Hey," Trisha looked up. "Long time no see, huh?" she cocked an eyebrow. "You can put your stuff over there," she pointed at the huge oak wardrobe sitting in between the two beds. Tess clumsily crammed her things in there, half wanting to collapse on a bed and sleep.

"So why does Aunt Lydia not allow cell phones?" Tess asked, curious at her aunt's strange behavior.

Trisha rolled her eyes. "You know how she's crazy conservative? She thinks that guys will try to call us and ask us out," Trisha sighed and continued in a monotone, as though she'd explained this before. "And then we'll sneak out of the house and never return."

"I can see that happening."

"Yeah, that's what everyone says." Trisha went back to her magazine. After about 15 more minutes of unpacking, Tess finally fell down on the opposite bed and passed out.

**I'm going to stop here because my tummy is, like, screaming at me to feed it. When i was writing it was like, "AHH! GO AND EAT YOU LAZY $#*!" So yeahh... :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**So yesterday I was like SOOO tired because I went to the beach and I got sunburned, so when I got in the shower it was less of me singing and more of me screaming, so that kind of wore me out… and plus this chapter is kind of on a lower level than the others because my friend kept distracting me I was like, "AHHH SHADDUP IM TRYING TO WRITE!" **

"Tess."

"Goway."

"Tess!"

"What?" She looked up from her pillow, seeing Trisha standing above her. She was in a red tube top and a denim skirt. "I'm sleeping!"

"Your first night in Pennsylvania has just begun."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come on!" Trisha urged, pulling Tess across the farmyard. Apparently, Tess, Trisha and her two boy cousins, Daniel and Andy, were also going out to play.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tess wondered aloud.

"It's fine," Trisha said, her hoop earrings glinting in the Pennsylvania sunset. "My mom and dad go to bed at, like, 7 P.M."

"We've been doing this for months and haven't ever gotten caught once," Andy assured her.

Suddenly a red pickup appeared in the horizon, kicking up dust in its wake. The truck rolled slowly to a stop to the four of them. A hip-hop song Tess didn't know wafted out the windows, which were rolled down. A dark-haired boy waved to the cousins and smiled at Tess. "So…. This is your cousin, huh?"

"That's right," Trisha said. "She's from California. Tess, this is Shane."

"Get in," Shane patted the seat. Tess and Trisha got in the front, while the two other boys climbed in the pickup bed. Tess twisted around and watched the little house recede in the distance, a knot of uneasiness in her stomach.

"So what brings you to glamorous Pennsylvania?" Shane asked.

"My parents sent me here."

"They sent you away?"

"Totally," Trisha cut in. "Tess is like, totally badass." Tess tried to stifle a laugh. The only rebellious thing she'd done in front of Trisha was sneak an extra Oreo for dessert. She wondered of her cousins really knew the truth of why her parents had exiled her here. All because of a boy. God, was her life screwed up.

Within minutes, the shaky pickup pulled up to an uneven dirt road, and parked next to beat up Toyota Corola. Confused, Tess looked around. "Where are we?"

Trisha ignored her. "The ratio of guys to girls here is four to one, so I know you'll find someone. I always do."

So Trisha didn't know about Tess. "Oh. Great." Tess tried to smile. Trisha winked and jumped out of the truck. Tess followed the others to the huge, tent-like construction in the middle of the field. The air smelled like a mix of beer and several different perfumes. When she walked inside, she expected to see bales of hay, and a farm animal or two. Instead, Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and plush, plum colored couches lined the outside, and Tess spotted a turntable in one corner and enormous kegs in the back.

Trisha, who'd already grabbed a beer, pulled several guys toward Tess. They all had floppy hair, angular faces, and brilliant white teeth. "This is my cousin Tess. Tess, this is Brett, Xavier, Cole..."

To be polite, Tess said "Hi," and shook the boys' hands.

"Cali_forn_ia," the boys nodded appreciatively, as if Trisha had said Tess was from NaughtyLand.

As Trisha wandered off with one of the boys, Tess hopped on an empty table and swung her legs in the air, bored. She wanted to people-watch again, but there were too many people, and the music was way too loud. As the music melted from Justin Timberlake to Britney Spears, Tess realized the people in Pennsylvania weren't that different from people in California. The girls all had denim skirts and wedge heels, the guys wearing oversized and hoodies and baggy jeans and were experimenting with facial hair.

"So you're the new girl?"

Tess turned around and saw a tall, dark-haired boy in an Aeropostale shirt and dark jeans standing behind her. He had broad shoulders and the stance of a soccer player, Tess could tell. But there was something sweet and open about his squarish face. "Yeah, that's me."

"So if you were a candy, what would you be?"

"Excuse me?" Tess blinked.

"Come on," he grinned, sitting next to her. She was caught in his aroma of Axe body spray. "Me, I'd be an M&M."

"Why?"

"'Cause I'd melt in your mouth, obviously," he poked her. "What about you?"

Tess shrugged. "I've never really thought about it. A Tootsie Roll?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Tootsie Roll? That looks like a big, long poop. You'd be something _way_ sexier than that."

Tess breathed in very slowly. Was this guy flirting with her? "Um… I think I need to know your name before we start talking about sexy candy."

He stuck out his hand. "I'm Marcel."

"Hey. Tess."

"Do you want a beer?" Marcel asked as they shook, gesturing to the kegs behind him with his free hand.

"No, I'm fine, I don't drink," she denied politely.

Marcel poured himself a beer and leaned on the table, crossing his ankles. "So did your family just move here or something?"

"I'm staying with my cousins for a little while." Tess pointed at Trisha, who was dancing with a tall blond boy.

"You on a little vacation?"

Tess couldn't be sure, but it seemed like Marcel was moving closer and closer to her on the table. "My mom sent me away because I couldn't live by her rules." She blurted out.

He nodded. "Mine is the same way. She thinks I'm at a choir concert right now." Then he glanced sympathetically at her. "So hey. Here's another one. If you were a TV show, what would you be?"

"Umm…" she thought for a few seconds. "_The Secret Life_?"

"Good one," Marcel commented. "I'd be _Seinfield._"

And then he'd done the unthinkable.

XXXXXXXXXXX

On the way home, with Tess driving (everyone else was drunk), she kept thinking: _I'm a slut I'm a slut I'm a slut._ But really, wasn't that exactly what she was? She'd just kissed someone who wasn't her boyfriend- and kind of liked it.

She pulled up to the little house and half-dragged Trisha in, quickly turning off the alarm, the one thing in the house with a screen on it. Then as she practically threw Trisha into her bed (with her still giggling and hiccupping) a bright glow in the darkness caught her eye. She headed back out to the kitchen, where the pickle jar and her phone still were. _One new text message,_ the screen blinked.

Tess looked around nervously. Did the jar have an alarm on it? It was worth the risk, she decided, and carefully unscrewed the lid. Nothing happened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But it turned into a face of shock and horror when she opened up her inbox. There was a picture message from a blocked number. Her insides froze when she saw the picture. It was a photo of her and Marcel at the party earlier on, when he'd kissed her. Shaking, she read the accompanying text.

_I don't think Logan's gonna like this, is he?_

**Oooh, mysteriousness… I likey! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Since I'm at Fernandina right now, I got bored so me and my friend decided to walk to the Fort Clinch Pier, which is the border of Georgia. Well we didn't know it was 3 miles away so we **_**walked**_** the whole three miles and then went back. And then when we came back we found some butt naked little kid killing our sand castle. We were like UGHHH! WHY! **

"Checkmate!" Logan triumphantly told Carlos.

"Nooo! You cheated!" Carlos accused him.

It was 5 P.M, and the sun was finally starting to set in Los Angeles. Bored out of their minds, they'd decided to play chess. Everything was going well so far.

The chimes of Mozart's Fifth made Logan look down from Carlos' harangues. _One new text message. _It was from a blocked number. Confused, he opened it up. It was a picture message.

"Who is it? Huh? Who is it?" Carlos peered eagerly over Logan's shoulder. His excitement evaporated when he saw it. "Is that…. Tess?"

"No, that can't be," his brow furrowed.

"Who's it from?"

"The number's blocked." Logan continued to stare at the picture. That girl kissing that guy couldn't be Tess. It just couldn't. But the proof was right there.

XXXXXXXX

Light streamed into Tess's eyes. She hugged her pillow and sank back into sleep. L.A's morning sounds were as predictable as the sunrise. The Smiths' dog barking from next door… the sound of the _Today Show_, which Carlos faithfully turned on every morning….the scent of pancake batter wafting through the door… the rooster crowing…

Her eyes flew open. A _rooster?_

Then it all came back to her. Lydia. Trisha. Party. Marcel. Kissing. That picture…. She cringed. Right after she'd seen it she'd thrown her phone back in the jar and ran to her room, petrified. Then, after counting by primes to calm her down, she'd finally fallen asleep at 1 AM.

She sat up and saw Lydia standing in the doorway, her arms crossed. Startled, Tess gave a little shriek and pulled the sheet around herself. Lydia was already dressed in a long patchwork jumper and a T-shirt. "I see you're up," she said. "Please come downstairs." Shaking, Tess slid on an oversized sweatshirt with the number 6 on the back, under _Mitchell._ It was Logan's, of course.

Andy, Daniel and Trisha were already at the table, staring into uneaten bowls of Mini Wheats. A plate of pancakes sat in the middle of the table. "Hi, guys. Is there anything for breakfast other than cereal and pancakes?"

"I don't think breakfast should be your main concern right now, Tess."

Tess turned, her blood running cold. Lydia leaned on the stove, a look of disappointment on her lined, weathered face. Tess looked nervously at Trisha, Andy and Daniel, but not one of them returned her gaze.

"So," Lydia started pacing the room. "We know what the four of you did last night."

Tess sank down in a chair, heat rising to her cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her phone blinking in the pickle jar. _Four new text messages. _

"I want to know whose idea this was," Lydia circled the table like a hawk zeroing in its prey. "Who thought it was okay to hang out with those kids? Who thought it was okay to drink alcohol?"

Dead silence. Tess felt somewhat relieved, though- it certainly wasn't her. She tugged at the sleeves of Logan's sweatshirt, still feeling uneasy.

"Well?" Lydia prompted.

"It was Tess!" Trisha exploded. "She knew about the party and demanded that we take her there. I took Andy and Daniel so we'd be safe."

"_What_?" It felt like Trisha had slapped her across the face with that pickle jar. "How would I know about that party? I don't know anyone here except you!"

"Boys? Is this true?"

Andy and Daniel stared into their cereal bowls and nodded slowly.

Tess wanted to scream, but she felt too angry and betrayed to. Her limbs started to shake. Why were they doing this? Weren't they her friends? "None of you guys seemed upset to be there!"

"That's a lie!" Trisha countered. "We were very upset!"

Lydia pulled Tess back by her shoulder. This isn't going to work," she shook her head. "You're no longer welcome here."

Tess took a step back. "What?"

"We did your parents a favor," Lydia growled. "They said you were a handful, but we never expected _this,_" she pressed the on button on the cordless phone. "I'm calling them now. We'll drive you to the airport, but they'll have to figure out a way for you to get back home. And they'll decide what to do with you."

Tess's eyes welled with tears as she looked at her three cousins. None of them were on her side now. No one was.

She fled back up to the little bedroom. Once there, she flung her things back into her blue suitcase. Most of them still smelled like home- a mix of Snuggle fabric softener and the faint scent of Kuda hairspray. She was glad they would never smell like this place.

Just when she zipped up her bag, she remembered that Lydia was downstairs, calling her mom. She could just picture her mother standing in the lobby at the Palmwoods saying, "_Please _don't send Tess back here. My life is perfect without her."

Once again, her eyes filled with tears again, and her heart literally hurt. No one wanted her. And what would Lydia's next option be? Send her to a military school? A _convent?_ Did those still exist?

"I have to get out of here," Tess whispered to herself. Her cell phone was still in the pickle jar downstairs. So she picked up her suitcase by its handle and clomped downstairs, not bothering to be stealthy. She unscrewed the lid, curled her fingers around her phone, and slid in her pocket. Then she burst onto the front porch of the tiny house and sprinted down the front walk.

XXXXXXXXXX

Late Monday evening, Tess sat on a faded red bar stool at the counter of the M&J diner across from the train station in Gloucester, New Jersey. She hadn't eaten anything all day and was contemplating ordering a nasty-looking cherry pie to go with her metallic-tasting coffee.

"Where are you headed?" A gruff voice asked her.

Tess looked in the gray eyes of the diner's fry cook, a sturdy man who looked out of place in the small diner. Tess searched for a name tag, but he didn't have one. "How do you know I'm going somewhere?"

He gave her a knowing look. "You're not from here, and you have a suitcase. Clever, aren't I?"

Tess sighed. It had taken her less than 20 minutes to power walk from Lydia's house to the mini-mart down the road, even with her bag in tow. Once there, she'd found a ride to the bus station, and had bought a ticket for the first bus out of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately it had been going to Gloucester, where Tess knew no one. Worse, the bus smelled like someone had beans last night, and the guy sitting next to her smelled like B.O. Then, weirdly, Tess found a crab underneath her seat. A _crab. _Then, when she'd stumbled into the terminal, she noticed the big departures board said there was a 10 P.M train to Utah, and then there would be a second train taking her to L.A. She'd never missed California as much as she did now.

Tess shut her eyes, finding it hard to believe she was actually running away. Years ago, she'd fantasized of running away- James used to say he'd go with her. Hawaii was one of their top five choices. Paris, of course, was the second. James said they could get fake identities. When Tess protested, saying it sounded difficult, James said, "Tess, you're an actress, so for you becoming someone else is really easy."

An ache welled up inside her. It was hard to think about James now, especially about how her last words to him were something insulting. Highly insulting, in fact. Well, he'd insulted Logan, what was she supposed to do? As she picked at her silverware she hoped that they could be friends again, sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Then, as though shocked by lightning, she remembered she'd never checked her messages. Feeling stupid, she fumbled through her purse and pulled out the phone, turning it on. She clicked to her inbox. Three messages were from Logan and one was from Carlos. She looked at the first one.

_hey, how's philly? its so boring without u D: _

Okay... so that wasn't important. Next one.

_hello? y aren't u answering? _

_Because my phone was stuck in the stupid pickle jar,_ she thought savagely as she went to the third one. When she saw the third one, she froze.

_can u explain this? _read the line of text underneath that cursed picture. Hmm. So Tess's crazy stalker did send Logan that picture. She bit her lip. She was in some serious trouble when she got back home. Then she read the one from Carlos, which had come in just this morning.

_hey, um... logies really sad and mad right now bcuz of that pic :((( and come back home! _

She looked up from the tiny screen and sighed. Then her eyes fell on the small TV in the corner of the place and saw her own face staring back at her. She blinked.

"Excuse me?" she waved at the fry cook. "Could you turn that up please?" He complied.

"…In other Los Angeles news, 18 year old Tess Sapphire has been reported missing. She was visiting relatives in Pennsylvania this week, and had vanished from the property yesterday morning." Out of the corner of her eye, Tess saw the fry cook glancing curiously at her and the TV screen. She pulled up the hood of Logan's sweatshirt over her head.

Back on the screen, Tess's mom stood in the lobby of the Palmwoods along with Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James, which surprised her. Although… Logan looked bleary-eyed and his eyes were lined with red, like he'd been crying. "We're very worried," her mom said. "We want Tess to know that we love her and just want her to come home."

"She was one of our closest friends," James cut in, "And it really sucks that she's not here with us right now. Tess, we really do love you, so… just come back."

Tears bloomed at the corners of her eyes again. Words couldn't describe the feeling she had when both James and her mother said those three little words: _we love you. _Then she heard a hissing noise outside- it was the train. She checked her watch- 9:52. She slid off her stool and glanced at the scribbled on bill in front of her. "I'll be back," she said to the cook. "I just have to get a train ticket."

"Hey, don't worry about it," the cook waved her off. "Coffee's on the house."

"Thanks!" She dragged her suitcase along to the ticket window, thanking the various forces of the universe that a line hadn't formed and that the tickets weren't sold out yet. Now she had one destination: home.

**Hehe… hope you guys liked that. I still don't know what I'll do next, though… **


	8. Chapter 8

**Guys, I think I just gave L.A a train station. I'm not even sure if people still use trains. **

_Please pick up, please pick up, _Tess prayed silently, her phone pressed to her left ear. It was early Wednesday morning, and she'd just arrived at the Los Angeles Train Station. When she'd entered the terminal she'd realized that no one was here to pick her up, and was attempting to call the communal phone at 2J at 4 in the morning.

"Hello?" Logan answered. Taken aback at someone actually answering the phone, it took Tess a second to reply.

"Um, hey, Logan… I'm back in Los Angeles. I need a ride." She felt guilty, asking for a ride when he was obviously pretty pissed at her.

"Oh. Uh… okay," He seemed pretty surprised, too. "And you need to explain that picture."

"Logan, I…I think it's happening again," she half-whispered.

"What?"

"Remember? A few weeks ago? Camille stalking us? It's happening again," she rushed on. "I've been getting notes."

"I'm sure it's just a knockoff Camille."

"No, it's not. Logan, that picture was taken in Pennsylvania. And was the number who sent that pic to you blocked?"

"Yeah…"

"Then there you go. It's not a knockoff." She paused. "Have you been getting any new notes?"

"No, I haven't."

"Weird. It's like all of them are targeted at me."

"Weird," he agreed. Then he changed tack at light speed. "So. Pennsylvania seems fun."

She blushed, grateful he couldn't see her. "Logan, that was nothing. He was drunk," she lied.

"Oh-kay," he singsonged. "If you say so."

"Can you just pick me up already?" she stamped her foot in frustration.

"Ha, okay. Terminal B, right?"

"Yeah. And hurry up, I'm exhausted."

"So selfish," he tutted. "Well, I'll see you in like, 15 minutes okay? Love you."

"Love you too," She hung up.

XXXXXXXX

"…And Trisha was just a freaking _whore,_ Logan, a _whore,_" she collapsed back on the upholstery. It was 4:30 A.M and she was going back home again. But in the meantime, she was telling Logan all about her little 'adventure.' "And then at the party Marcel's just like ,'if you were a candy what would you be,' and all that crap and then he tries to make a move on me and I'm just like, 'Ew! WTF?' and then he's like, 'What's wrong with that' and I said—"

"Tess," Logan held up a hand. "Breathe. I get it. Some random dude decides to kiss you, which I can totally understand, because you are pretty kissable. And you really need to start adding periods in your sentences." He cast a sideways glance at her. "And is that _my _sweatshirt you're wearing?"

She sighed. "Sorry. I'm just freaking out because someone new is threatening us and everything." Then she sank down in the passenger seat, folding her arms. "You don't have to be so dang temperamental," she added.

"Ah, well…" He drove in silence for a while.

Tess's phone lit up. _One new text message. _"Who could be texting me at this hour?" she grumbled, but she had a feeling she knew who it was.

_So, you decided to tell Logan about little ol' moi, did you? Now you'll get it. -X_

"Crap!" Logan yelled as the car suddenly swerved, skidding sideways on the road. Bright headlights flashed through the windshield. Tess screamed and held onto her door handle for dear life as she felt the car fall onto her side, shattering the window, glass sprinkling everywhere. She felt a sharp pain in her lower right elbow, and immediately felt nauseated. Then the car slowly rolled onto its roof, denting it, and forcing them onto their heads.

"Tess, Tess! Are you okay? Come on, answer me…" Logan's frantic voice filled the silence.

"I'm fine," she tried to say, but then her vision ebbed to darkness.

**Ughhh! Short chapter :/ But yeah… I'm referring to that mysterious texter as "X" now. Mwah! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AHHH Im soooo hyper so I'm gonna go on an updating spree in the middle of the night! Great idea, I know… **

The next time Tess's eyes popped open, a bright, painful light practically blinded her. She was lying on her back in an uncomfortable mattress. Several figures stood around her- Kendall, James, Carlos, and her mom.

Her _mom_? Tess tried to frown but her face muscles were in excruciating pain.

"Tess." Carlos's chin wobbled. "You're _awake_."

"Are you okay, honey?" her mother asked. "Can you talk?"

Tess glanced down at her arms. Her right one was heavily bandaged and had a cast on it. The other had little spots of bandages circling around her biceps. Then she saw the IV tube sticking out of the crook of her good elbow. "What's going on?" she croaked, looking around.

"You're in the hospital," Kendall said slowly, as though addressing a child. "Remember?"

"Um, no," she admitted truthfully. "What happened?"

"Well, after you and Logan crashed, he tactfully called 911," James said. Tess jumped. It was the longest thing he'd ever said to her in weeks. "And then he must have passed out before they got to him, because he was already out when we saw him in the ambulance."

"But if he was out then how did you guys know that we were half- dead in the middle of the road?"

"Hey, the train station's like, 10 minutes away. He was gone for 30 minutes," Kendall shook his head. "So we went down the main road to find you. It wasn't that hard."

"_And_ the doctor said that now that the swelling's gone down, they don't see any brain injury, and your internal organs look pretty good. Sooo it's a miracle!" Carlos did his jazz hands.

"It _is _a miracle," her mother butted in. "We were sick with worry, Tess. It makes me sick to think that someone did this to you, and that they're still out there. We're just glad you're still alive, Tess. That's what matters."

"Well… what happened to Logan?"

"Oh, he's not too bad, either. Lots of bruises, like you, a few stitches, and a broken leg," Kendall said. "He'll probably be on crutches for a while."

"By the way, before you freak out, here's your ring," James said, holding out the small, shiny object. "The doctors took it off when you came here, and I just thought…"

"Oh, thanks so much, James," she said weakly. She was reminded of how Logan had given her that exact ring in this exact hospital. Talk about déjà vu. "And, hey… have you guys… been getting weird texts?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like… notes like the ones Camille sent us. Things like that."

"Well, no…" Kendall bit the inside of his lip. "Why?"

"Because I have," Tess blurted. "And it's weird how this person just targets me. It even has a name now- X."

"It could be a fake," Carlos suggested. "Camille's gone now."

"That's what Logan thought, but it can't be. It sent me texts even when I was in Pennsylvania. It started here, and somehow followed me to Pennsylvania and back." She paused. "I keep thinking about who it is now, but I can't place anyone."

Suddenly, Carlos's little Nokia buzzed. Then James's began to play "The Lazy Song," and even Tess's vibrated inside her purse.

A cold wind swept over them. "No," Tess whispered.

"Should we-?"

"Yes!"

James dug his phone out from his jeans and opened up the text. Peering over his arm, Tess read:

_Miss me, bitches? Stop digging for answers, or you might end up like Sleeping Beauty too. –X._

**I feel like the later I post the shorter my chapters get. Ehh. Well I'm gonna go and sleep now! :D **


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my gosh you guys... IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE UPDATED THIS! I feel so guilty now. I took a break from this and did some things for Harry Potter and Teen Titans, which explains my unexplained absence. **

**So... yeah. Happy reading! :) **

On Wednesday afternoon, just as Tess flopped over on her hospital bed- apparently, lying too still caused bedsores, which sounded even nastier than acne- she heard a knock at her door. She almost didn't want to answer it. She was sick of all her nosy visitors, every single last one of them. And she certainly didn't want to be bothered on her 19th birthday. Tess screamed into her pillow. It was her goddamn _birthday_, and she was in the hospital, all ugly and disfigured.

"Let's get ready to par-_tay_!" someone yelled. Carlos, Kendall, Jo, and Katie sidled in, all loaded down with bags.

"Hey, guys," Tess lifted the blanket over the bottom half of her face, revealing only her eyes.

"What's with the veil?"Kendall asked, curious.

"The doctors told me to do this," Tess joked, pulling it tighter around her nose. "To, like, keep away germs. And besides, you get to focus on my beautiful eyes."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Tess. Anyway, we're here for your…." She paused. "…NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY!" she yelled with Kendall and Carlos. "We thought it would suck if you were here by yourself and all, so we brought the party to you!"

Tess dropped the blanket from her face in pure surprise. _"What? _Oh my God, you guys! Seriously?"

Carlos' chest puffed out with pride. "Yup. We got food, some games, your presents… everything!"

Tess's ears perked up. "Presents? Let's start with those," she rubbed her hands gleefully as Emma laughed. Carlos and Kendall pulled out several brightly wrapped boxes and bags and piled them at the edge of her bed. Tess reached for the big box, which was a kind of box clothes would come in, but Jo pulled it out of her reach. "Save this for last," she said.

"Ughhh!" Tess groaned. But she did get a pretty good turnout- chocolates from her mom, a set of nail polish fromher best girlfriend Emma (including several 'shatter' colors) a box of the top 10 highest rated horror movies from Carlos (Tess loved horror movies. This particular set included _The Ring, Paranormal Activity, _and _Insidious_), a new Vera Bradley bag from Jo, a new hockey stick from Kendall, and _Demolition Derby_ for PlayStation 3 from Katie.

"Okay, let's see that box," Tess said, reaching for it.

"Whoa, whoa, Miss Greedy. What's the magic word?"Jo questioned.

"Please." Tess huffed.

"Thank you," she said, and gave her the box. It felt strangely light. Tess picked up the card and read, "_To Tess. From James and Logan_." She raised her eyebrows. Last she checked, James was about ready to strangle Logan. Nonetheless she opened up the box and peered inside.

It was empty. Confused, Tess looked up at them. "What's this?"

"Wait for it,"Kendall held up a finger, a wide grin spreading over his face now.

"Surprise!" said two voices from the doorway. Tess turned to see James pushing a wheelchair, with Logan in it. Both of them were grinning broadly, despite the fact that Logan had just as many bruises on his face as she did, and that his leg was wrapped tightly in a cast. But that didn't matter- she didn't look any better. "Oh my God, you guys!" she said, hugging Logan tightly and then, James.

"We'd never miss your birthday," Logan grinned at her.

"Even if you had a broken leg and practically tied to your bed 24/7?"

"Yep."

"Well, everyone's here, so I say we break into some horror movies!" Tess cheered, while Carlos groaned. "Hey, _you_ were the one who gave them to me," she added to him.

"Wait, wait," Logan called. "We should have a toast first."

"A toast it is," Jo nodded, and got out the soda cans, tossing one to every person in the room. There were a few seconds of various hissing noises as everyone popped their cans open. "To Tess," Jo said, raising her can, "for surviving this world nineteen years, and in those nineteen years, finding Logan," she smiled in their direction. "Tess!"

"Tess," everyone echoed, and drank deeply from their soda cans.

Afterwards, everyone voted on watching _Paranormal Activity, _so that's what they put in the little flat-screen in the corner. As the opening scenes rolled and Kendall flicked off the light switch, Tess couldn't help but feel more at ease than she had been in weeks- she was with all her friends, watching one of the best horror films ever. The finishing touch was when Logan laced his fingers through hers.

* * *

><p>"I don't think I'll ever sleep again," Carlos shuddered two hours later when the credits flashed on the screen.<p>

"Don't worry, we'll leave the night light on in our room," Kendall reassured him, rolling his eyes.

"Hey- where's James?" Carlos asked, looking around the room.

"Very funny, Carlos," Jo said.

"No, really. Where is he? And Katie?" A hint of anxiety was beginning to creep in his voice.

"Well, I know they got up to go somewhere..." Tess said thoughtfully. "Remember? When the people in the movie were getting possessed, I think that's when they left."

Suddenly, Tess's phone vibrated on her bedside table. No one moved for a few seconds. Very slowly, Tess opened her inbox. _One new text message._ Her fingers shaking, she clicked on it.

_Looking for the boy whose heart you broke? Sorry, you can't get him back. -X _

Suddenly, everything fell into place. Both Katie and James missing. James was innocent. That only left one person who could be X.

"Katie," Tess whispered, and her phone clattered to the linoleum floor.


End file.
